A Few Minutes with Rav Shmuel Rabinovich

Eliezer Shulman

Rav Shmuel Rabinovitch, chief rabbi of the Kosel, on how America’s religious community can help secure its sanctity

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

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small group of radical women, with support from the Reform and Conservative movements in the United States, are attempting to change the status quo at the Kosel, where traditional prayer following halachic standards has been the norm for centuries. Recently, all three members of an Israeli government panel tasked with creating a new prayer space for the liberal streams at the southern wall have resigned, leaving the process in limbo.

Standing in the middle of the mayhem is chief rabbi of the Western Wall, Rav Shmuel Rabinovitch, who has been consulting with gedolei haTorah to uphold the traditional approach and block plans to politicize the holiest place in the Jewish world. We talked to him about what the Kosel Hamaaravi means to the Jewish People and why the activists are insisting on upsetting the status quo.

What is this war at the Kosel really about?

The Kosel is testimony to the glorious past of Am Yisrael. No one disputes the fact that Jewish law, as handed down from generation to generation, dictates separate prayer areas for men and for women. These stones have absorbed centuries of heartfelt prayer, offered at the place that is closest to the Holy of Holies.

Specifically here, it is incumbent on us to preserve the ancient traditions. This holds on any point across the globe, all the more so at the Kosel Hamaaravi, from which the Shechinah has never departed. This is not solely a halachic demand, but one that touches upon the foundation of our very existence, which we are forbidden from altering or compromising on. It is what underlies our great opposition to the desecration of the sanctity of the site, and to the demand to alter our mesorah, and we will continue to fight — with great pain and compassion.

What does the Rav have to say in light of the pressure exerted by Prime Minister Netanyahu to expand the prayer area at the southern wall for the Reform and Conservative movements?

The prime minister is subject to tremendous pressure from American Jewry, and I never cease to wonder at this, since so many of them never come to visit Israel. Not only that, they don’t even support the Israeli government on many issues. Some were vehemently opposed to transferring the US embassy to Jerusalem — they don’t see Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, nor do they consider it the spiritual locus of Am Yisrael. And yet, notwithstanding their geographic, ideological, and traditional distance, they feel entitled to change the way Jews daven at the Kosel!

Allocating the southern plaza for the Reform and Conservative movements is not a new idea. Already 20 years ago, when the first disputes arose, the High Court ruled that the traditional character would be maintained in the northern end of the Kosel, while the southern wall would be allocated for pluralistic prayer. And even though the southern area is usually empty, it was still decided to enlarge it.

The prime minister wants to satisfy some of these demands due to the court order, as well as the pressure being brought to bear by the American Reform and Conservative movements. I think that American Jewry, and Jews from all over the Diaspora, should protest loudly, and insist that absolutely no changes be made at the Kosel. This is just one aspect of the quandary of Diaspora Jewry, which must take urgent action to draw their brethren closer to Hashem.

Are the Women of the Wall still reading from a sefer Torah at the Kosel every Rosh Chodesh?

Yes, unfortunately it is still taking place. Every Rosh Chodesh, we are witness to a battle on the part of a very tiny band of defiant women who wish to create a provocation. Every month, they seek a different gimmick to desecrate the sanctity of the Kosel, in clear defiance of the law.

The Kosel belongs to all Jews worldwide. It behooves us all to approach the ancient stones of the Kosel with a dose of humility, not brazenness. The millions who come to the Kosel aren’t coming to make a statement or to take sides in a polemic, they’re coming to stand in awe and fear, in front of G-d, their people, and themselves.

As the chief rabbi of the Kosel, I see it as my mission to welcome all Jews here with open arms, while simultaneously standing staunchly against any attempt to expropriate the site in the name of this or that “truth,” robbing it from the millions of Jews who come here.

When I see the humiliating scenes that play out in front of my office every Rosh Chodesh, I cry and mourn this churban. I am full of pain and sorrow that the site that unites all Jews has been turned into a source of division and machlokes due to a fringe women’s group. The High Court is currently ruling on this issue, and the position of the state is that the women must be relegated to the southern wall and be forbidden from entering the regular Kosel Plaza. I say this with sadness, but my personal opinion is that they have no place at all anywhere near the Kosel Hamaaravi, not at the northern or the southern plaza.

Are the Orthodox losing the battle to control the Kosel?

Not at all. We are active in different ways, carrying out the instructions of gedolei Yisrael. There’s great wisdom in their words, and we’re seeing results. It’s not a simple issue — we’re dealing with rulings from the High Court that have to be accepted. But we’re all working at the behest of gedolei Yisrael to preserve the sanctity of the Kosel, and with Hashem’s help, we’ll succeed.

What can Diaspora Jewry do to help in the struggle?

They can express their firm opposition to the demands of this small group to alter the status quo at the Kosel. If all American frum Jews get together on this issue, they can present a united front to the prime minister, and explain that the position of the Reform movement in the United States is the opinion of a sector that does not visit Israel. By contrast, the view of the Orthodox Jews, who do visit Israel, is clear and unequivocally in favor of maintaining tradition, and this is the view that must be accepted. They must also strengthen the frum representatives who work tirelessly to promote halachah.

Does the Rav receive support from rabbis in Israel or abroad?

Baruch Hashem, I receive the enthusiastic support of rabbanim from Israel and abroad. Gedolei Yisrael from all groups sent me a letter of chizuk signed by Rav Aharon Leib Steinman ztz”l, and ybdlch”t, the Belzer Rebbe, the president of the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah Rav Shalom Cohen, Rav Gershon Edelstein, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, the Sanzer Rebbe, and Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl.

What is the Rav’s solution to this conflict?

My efforts to reach a solution are carried out quietly and discreetly, with the constant advice of gedolei Yisrael. Any public declarations on my part will not contribute to the cause.